Wirebound box lining construction



July 14, 1964 w. .1. HOGAN WIREBOUND BOX LINING CONSTRUCTION Filed May 14, 1962 INVENTOR. MLU/1M u. Haan/v BY @22; www/MW ATTORNEYSI United States Patent O 3,140,790 WIREBOUND BOX LINING CONSTRUCTION William .I. Hogan, Dover, NJ., assigner to Stapling Machine Co., Rockaway, NJ., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 14, 1962, Ser. No. 194,501 1 Claim. (Cl. 217-3) This invention relates to lined wirebound boxes and structures for attaching linings to such boxes. The invention additionally relates to flexible retainer structures formed by the linings of wirebound boxes. More particularly, this invention relates to formations of flexible lining material for preventing objects placed in a short end type wirebound box from spilling over the ends of the box before it is closed, and for protecting such objects from damage due to contact with the cleats on the lid of the box when it is closed.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a pictorial view of a short end type wirebound box embodying features of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is an expanded sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

The wirebound box shown in FIGURE 1 is of the short end type of construction. That is, each end of the box is constructed with the upper edge 12 of each of the face boards 14 positioned below the lower edge 16 of the adjacent cleat 18 on the top section or lid 20 when the lid is closed.

This short end box is often used where the box is to be packed so full that its ends bulge out. Under these circumstances, full depth end boxes, whose ends extend all the way up to the lid, are very difcult to close because of interference between the upper edges of the bulging ends and the cleats on the lid. This difficulty of closing induces workers packing the boxes to close them improperly, with the result that the boxes and their contents are often damaged. This problem has been substantially eliminated by the use of the short en box because there is no interference between its ends and the cleats on its lid. This makes it very easy for a worker to close the box properly and thereby reduce the chance of damage to the box and its contents.

This short end construction is not completely satisfactory in that, when a box is lled with jumble-packed, discrete objects (e.g., fruit), the box ends bulge out and permit the contents of the box to be damaged by the lower edges 16 of the cleats 1S on the box lid. Furthermore, the contents of the boxes often spill over the shortened box ends before the lid is closed. To remedy these problems, a flexible retainer has been formed by adding to the box a lining of stiff paper with its ends projecting above the upper edges of the ends to protect the contents from being marred by the cleats on the lid and to retain the contents in the box until the lid is closed.

Retainers and other structures used prior to the present invention for attaching linings to wirebound boxes were formed by stapling or glueing the lining to the inside of the box end. Although this method proved satisfactory for many purposes, when the box and its contents became Wet during refrigeration the lining material became soft, came loose from the box and did not protect the fruit. In addition, when the boxes were shipped to customers in a knocked-down condition, the linings often became loosened from the inside of the box and would not stay in place when the box was subsequently set up. Further, when the boxes were used for display in the market, as the contents were removed the lining fell down and covered the remaining contents.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a simple and economical structure for securely attaching linings to wirebound boxes.

Another object is to provide a flexible retainer which is strong, stays strong when water-soaked, stays attachedto the box in which it is used, and is economical to make.

Other objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be pointed out in, or apparent from, the drawings and the following detailed description..

The preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in FIGURE 1 and, in more detail, in FIGURE 2. A lining 22 is supplied at each end of the box. It is made of paper and is folded along a line 24 spaced from the end 26 of the lining (see FIGURE 2). The end portion 27 of the lining extends downwardly and overlies the outside surface of the face boards 14. It is secured to that surface by a wooden reinforcing strip 28 which is placed over the lining end portion 27 and is secured to the face boards 14 by driving staples 30 through the reinforcing strip 28, through the lining end portion 2-7, and into or through the face boards 14. The portion of the lining 22 which overlies the inner surface of the face boards 14 may be glued to that surface, but is preferably secured thereto by passing the staples 30 through the face boards 14 and the inner portion of the lining and clinching the inner ends 32 of the staples over on the lining as shown in the drawings. Thus, the portion of the lining 22 that projects beyond the upper edge of the box end forms a double-walled retaining surface whose walls are securely supported by the box face boards 14.

This retaining surface is superior to those previously available, in that its novel double-walled construction provides more support and cushioning for the objects in the box than did the previous single-wall construction. The use of the reinforcing strip 28 to hold the lining end por tion 27 to the face boards 14 gives further superior results in that it holds the lining 22 in the box more securely so that it will not become separated easily from the box even when it is watersoaked.

The method outlined above is also useful in attaching linings to full-depth end boxes and other boxes not hav ing the short end construction. In such boxes, Where no retaining surface is needed, the lining end portion 27 may be attached to the outer surface of the face boards 14 as described above and folded over flush with the upper edge 12 of those boards. This method is superior to those used previously in that it is simple and inexpensive, and secures the lining to the box more firmly.

Although a specific preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in detail, it is desired to emphasize that this is not intended to be exhaustive or necessarily limitative; on the contrary, the showing herein is for the purpose of illustrating the invention and thus to enable others skilled in the art to adapt the invention in such Ways as meet the requirements of particular applications, it being understood that various modifications may be made Without departing from the scope of the invention as dened by the appended claim.

That which is claimed is:

In a lined wirebound box of the type having a plurality of box sections formed of face material with reinforcing cleats secured to the inner face thereof adjacent each end of said box with said sections foldably secured together by binding wires secured thereto, box ends formed of face material secured adjacent the inner faces of said cleats at each end of said box, the upper edge of said face material being below the lower edges of the cleats on the top section of said box, a llexible lining at the inner face of the face material at each box end, said lining projecting above the upper edge of the face material of said box end and being folded over along a line generally parallel to said upper edge and spaced above said edge a suicient distance to lie opposite the inner face of the adjacent cleat on said top section, the end portion of said lining beyond the outer board being generally aligned with that of the face material of said box end, and staples driven through said outer board, through at least said end portion of said 1ining, and into said face material to secure these components in assembled relation to one another.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Tomme Dec. 12, 1939 Luce et al. July 2, 1940 Belsinger Sept. 27, 1949 Hogan et al Dec. 28, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 24, 1941 

